Experts suggest holistic approach for NTDC reforms

Islamabad: While the National Transmission and Despatch Company’s (NTDC) structural reforms are designed to improve accountability, efficiency and transparency, their success depends on comprehensive planning, political neutrality and systemic coordination, as restructuring alone will not bring lasting improvements, emphasised experts during a roundtable discussion.

They also called for reducing bureaucratic influence to ensure independent decision-making and prioritising national interest over institutional inertia for successful reforms. The event, titled ‘Evaluating NTDC Reforms: Tackling Transmission and Distribution Challenges,’ was hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies, whose chairman Khalid Rahman noted that issues in the power sector were not isolated but linked to broader poor governance, including institutional and political crises.

He said the challenges were caused by a deeper moral crisis at both leadership and grassroots levels, underscoring the need for prioritising collective interests and systemic reform beyond superficial restructuring.

NTDC chairman Dr Fiaz Chaudhry noted that reforms in the company were primarily focused on structural changes. He said restructuring included separating the project development function into an independent energy infrastructure development and management company to insulate it from existing institutional inefficiencies.

Also, it includes renaming NTDC as National Grid Company of Pakistan to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of transmission service delivery. Additionally, forming an Independent System and Market Operator would ensure neutrality and avoid conflicts of interest.

He underscored that it was crucial to understand the broader perspective of Pakistan’s power sector, as any financial burden or inefficiency within the sector ultimately impacts consumers through increased tariffs or adds to the national fiscal burden.